Showing posts with label mvm entertainment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mvm entertainment. Show all posts

30 July 2012

'The Victim' DVD Review

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★★★☆☆


Although Thai director Monthon Arayangkoon’s The Victim isn’t exactly a pitch perfect horror-thriller, it’s still a bit criminal that the film was made back in 2006 and is only now getting a release in the UK.  The Victim’s strength pulls mostly from the basic and striking nature of its premise: a young actress is haunted by the souls of the victims she portrays in police reconstructions, and after taking on the role of Meen she is slowly pulled into a mess of supernatural terror. A good mix of thriller, horror, plot twists, and a dollop of black comedy make this feature a lot more accomplished as a whole than your average bog-standard ghost story.
                Arayangkoon’s understanding of the composition of horrifying images is obvious throughout The Victim and even when the second half starts to wobble on plot twists, the visual impact is in no way lessened. Images of terror here are eerie and startling: faces summoned out of shadow, long tracking shots through deserted space, the muddling of past and present, imagined and real. All of these help to push the viewer down a rabbit hole with the fantastic Pitchanart Sakakorn who’s wrought twisted lead performance stands out as key to the success of the story.  On the other hand, some of the supporting cast can be less striking; fading into wooden monotony, but the success of the director’s control over the involving nature of fear squashes any problems here.

                Over-reliance on CGI in some make-up effects tarnishes an otherwise accomplished understanding of the subtleties required in striking fear into an audience. The director’s keen eye is most arresting when he constructs scares comprised solely of glimpses and shadows and it’s this that is most infuriating when compared with the TV-movie feel of the more blasé CG scare-tactics.

                Problems kick-in from the big twist that strives for the Shyamalan-effect but squanders itself somewhere around his later, less striking, work. From the first unveiling the film slowly threatens to pop its own bubble, the excellent mix of moods and that wonderful control of visually perfect haunting sequences is somewhat tarnished by a complicated and rushed last half hour that strives to do too much with too little and leaves the film unfulfilled.  Still, a good strong lead, consistent visual smarts, and more than enough well-devised scares help leapfrog any lulls in the plot and mark the feature out as impressive.



Scott Clark



Rating: 15
UK Release Date: 6 August 2012
Directed By: Monthon Arayangkoon
Cast: Pitchanart Sakakorn, Apasiri Nitibhon, Penpak Sirikul
Pre-Order/Buy:The Victim On DVD

28 June 2012

Thai Horror THE VICTIM (Phii khon pen ) Coming TO UK On DVD

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MVM Entertainment are bringing some Thai horror to UK this August on DVD with THE VICTIM (Phii khon pen ). The horror-thriller hybrid that firmly established Thai filmmaker Monthon Arayangkoon (The House) as a director to watch finally comes to DVD in the UK, 6 years after its release.

When aspiring young actress, Ting, is approached by the Bangkok police department’s Lieutenant Teerasak Kedkaew and invited to play a variety of mugging, murder and rape victims in a series of “Crimewatch”-style re-enactments, she jumps at the chance. Her immediate success soon leads to further work with Lt. Te’s colleagues at other police stations around the city and, ultimately, to a role in a TV soap opera. But the role Ting really wants is that of Meen, a former Miss Thailand contestant-turned-actress and the victim in a high-profile murder case in which Meen’s husband, Jarun, stands accused. Shortly before the filming of the police re-enactments relating to the case begins, the female officer scheduled to play Meen dies unexpectedly from a severe heart attack, despite being young and apparently healthy. Reluctantly, Lt. Te offers the part to Ting, who immediately begins studying TV footage of the dead model-actress in order to get into character. As she gets deeper into the role, Ting experiences what she can only describe as a supernatural connection to Meen, and one that leads her to believe Jarun is not the murderer. Determined to solve the mystery, Meen begins her own investigation into the crime only to discover the worlds of reality, fantasy, the supernatural and the media colliding in the most unexpected and terrifying ways imaginable.

It’s regarded by some as one of the most original, inventive and intelligent horror movies we’ve seen in years – a film that constantly pulls the rug from under the audience and in which nothing is really as it seems. The cool imagery, creepy atmosphere, flashes of humour and several jump-out-of-your-seat moments all add up to the kind of work which a director like Brian De Palma would be proud. If you liked the similarly themed Thai hit “Shutter” and “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare” you’ll love this. And make sure to stick around for the spooky closing credits to see what may or may not be some genuine ghosts.

The Victim is due out on DVD thanks to MVM Entertainment on August 6th, starring Pitchanart Sakakorn , Apasiri Nitibhon and Kiradej Ketakinta .

The Victim - Trailer -Thai horror Published via LongTail.tv